


If I Could Go Back

by Umbri



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Gen, My friend convinced me yuuri and Serena are yusaku’s Parents, TFW you forget the tag the main antagonist, This came from an angsty thought and it was too good not to write, Time Travel, at least he’s at the bottom where he belongs, credit to my discord friends for giving me the idea lmao, i will drag this hc with me to my grave unless canonically proven otherwise, i’ll make sure to put in the notes which ones are angst dw, so that’s the case in this fic, three quotation marks because some of these don’t actually fix anything, ”””Fix It””” fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-01-24 05:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18564562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbri/pseuds/Umbri
Summary: ~~~PLEASE READ EACH CHAPTER’S BEGINNING NOTES FOR CHAPTER-SPECIFIC WARNINGS~~~Fic labeled for Teen and Up as a general precaution. Ending chapters may have its rating changed.Yusaku loses atop the Tower of Hanoi. Watching himself, Ai, Revolver and VRAINS itself disappear around him, he finds himself wishing for a second chance. A second chance at this duel...Or maybe he could go all the way back before the Lost Incident, and none of this would happen in the first place.To be updated as I get ideas, including those thrown at me *hint hint nudge nudge*





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is the universal beginning for this AU. All other chapters will continue where THIS CHAPTER leaves off, and may or may not receive further updates in the future.

Yusaku wakes up in a strangely familiar and comfy bed, in a room he swears he recognizes, but from where escapes him. He feels _odd_ , somehow, and sitting up only confirms this for him. He brings his hand to his face to try and stead his spinning head, but the hand that comes up isn’t his own—or perhaps it is, just smaller.

He finds a mirror in his room and wanders over to confirm his suspicions. A well-rested boy stared back at him, with smooth, albeit slightly messy, blue hair and pink bangs, but without pink streaks in his lighter-blue bangs, and somehow retains childish, innocent curiosity in his eyes.

Yusaku was 6 again. This was _his_ room, before he lived in an orphanage or a barely-passable apartment, _before the Hanoi Project_. This was his _home_ , with—

_With his parents._

“Yusaku!” A woman calls, opening his door. “Something wrong? You’re usually eating by now.”

The woman, _his mother_ , has the same blue hair and green eyes as he does. She looks concerned, especially the longer he simply stares at her, and it occurs to him that, for the first time in ten years (or at least, what was ten years before he somehow traveled back in time), there was someone who truly, _genuinely_ loved him.

Yusaku has told himself time and time again that he wouldn’t cry; no matter what happened, he’d stay focused and never mourn the past again.

But it’s hard not to mourn your past when suddenly it’s your _present_.

He feels tears form in his eyes, but only tries to hide it for a moment before he simply lets it flow and hugs _his mother._ How long would it take him to get used to that? To refamiliarize himself with the idea that there’s someone who truly loves him so close by? That there’s someone truly familiar with him he can vent his sorrows to?

“Serena? What’s wrong?” His father—most likely, anyway—walks in. Yusaku’s face is buried in his mother’s stomach so he can’t see his face, but he imagines it’s similar to his mother’s. He pulls her closer, weeping harder. It _hurts_ , somehow. The happiness swelling in his chest seems to stretch at the void left by the Lost Incident. It _hurts_ , but he’s never felt so at ease. Like a _child_.

“I’m not sure,” His mother— _Serena_ , of course—replies, the concern on her face earlier echoed in her voice as she gently strokes his hair. The joy in his chest swells, but it also hurts so much more.

His father seems to recognize that Yusaku is _crying_ , kneeling to his height and placing his hand on Yusaku’s back. “Alright, who did it? Who’s dyin’ tonight?” His tone is serious, but with just enough humor that Yusaku passes it off as a joke to try and lighten the mood, which strangely works. Maybe because these are his parents…

“ _Yuuri!_ ” Serena cries, removing her hand from his head to audibly smack his father. Even as he chokes on his own tears, he can’t help a pitiful laugh. The pain in his chest eases. “We agreed on this!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Finally, Yusaku pulls away just enough to see his father’s face. Yuuri—it seems so obvious now, so silly that he’d ever forgotten who they were—had pink and purple hair, almost equally pink eyes, and eyebrows he’s glad he didn’t inherit. His expression was serious, and seemed to solidify when he turned to look at him—the sight of your child crying must really hurt. “Seriously though, what’s wrong?”

He struggles to pull himself together, reluctantly letting go of his mother to wipe away the tears in his eyes. “I’m fine,” he insists, with a voice so small and pitiful he almost didn’t believe it was his own. “It was just—just a nightmare.” He’d love to believe that was true, that everything he’d experienced up until now was simply a bad dream, but even after nightmares, it doesn’t take long to remember your surroundings, where you are, what happened yesterday. Here, he’s clueless—he doesn’t remember the address of this house, whether or not it’s a school day—it probably is, though—or even how many friends he had, their names, their faces… even the sight of his own parents in front of him, it felt like _this_ was the dream. “I hope.”

Yuuri pulls Yusaku into his arms, completely encompassing his tiny being. It’s an unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, feeling, his father’s warmth. He wraps his little arms around his father, melting a bit into the embrace. It’s comforting, this feeling of security and the sound of Yuuri’s heartbeat by his ear. He could sit here all day and still not have enough of it.

“You’re awake now, ok?” Yuuri lowers his voice, but in a comforting way. “I won’t ask what you dreamt of, but it’s over now. We’re right here—“ Serena pets his hair again. “—and that will never change.”

Oh, if only they knew the nightmare he would soon find himself living…

...If he didn’t change things.


	2. Ending One: Completion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku decides, wisely, not to meddle too much with the flow of time and follows his destiny back into that white room, comforted only by his confidence in his dueling and a familiar voice in the back of his head...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku almost has a panic attack and considers murder, but otherwise no warnings here. Enjoy!  
> Hinted relationships:  
> Spectre&Jin  
> Spectre&Ryoken  
> Miyu&/Aoi if you squint a bit (could go either way)  
> Yusaku/Ryoken  
> Kusanagi-san&Yusaku  
> Who am I kidding they’re all friends

Yusaku could prepare for what’s to come beforehand. The Lost Incident won’t be as hellish as it was the first time—he’s still the duelist it shaped him into, and he’ll conquer it.

Maybe Ai could hear him, if he talked to him. He’d never bothered to speak aloud during the incident—not that he remembers, anyway. He’d always assumed no one was there to hear him, that it was just a waste of precious energy. But just maybe…

“Yeah,” he mumbles into his father’s chest. “I’m okay.”

And for the first time in his life, it doesn’t feel like a lie.

 

Naturally, he’s met with disbelief and shock when he says he’ll be away for  _ six months _ . His parents try to talk him out of taking such a trip, or at least insisting they go with, but he manages to convince them he’ll be fine, he’ll be with a friend from school, that he’ll come back for sure. He makes sure to memorize the address of that house—how ironic, this street is so close to the orphanage he lived in for so long—and heads to school, knowing at the end of the day, his Destiny is waiting for him, just around the corner.

 

He ended up staying at school quite late, but that was fine; on his way back to his house, just like before, he bumps into a boy with silver hair and bright blue eyes. It actually catches him by surprise—he didn’t remember  _ which _ corner they bumped into each other by.

“Sorry!” Ryoken—oops, he’s not supposed to know that—cries, picking up the cards they’d dropped. (Yusaku took the walk “home” as a chance to refresh his memory of his deck—almost exactly like the one he had as Unknown, but there were some cards he didn’t recognize and some he remembered that weren’t there.) Yusaku did the same, picking up the face-up ones he knew were his and a couple face-down ones that he flipped over to realize were the ones he was missing. How ironic—the card he considered to be the icon of his deck was  _ Ryoken’s _ .

“You play Duel Monsters too?” The boy asks, once they’ve collected all the cards. He nods—as enthusiastically as he can—and the excitement in the boy’s eyes practically glows. “Wanna play over at my house?”

“Yeah!” He manages to sound genuinely excited—he realizes on the walk to Ryoken’s place (they did introductions) that it sounded so genuine because it  _ was _ . He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the Lost Incident, but talking to Ryoken, chatting about the progress of Link VRAINS and some of the new cards… it truly felt like they were  _ friends _ . He understands now why he remembered meeting Ryoken even after ten long years—this moment, this  _ memory _ , was one he could never truly forget.

He recites his own address in his head a few times once they reach the familiar seaside mansion—but he can’t help stopping to admire the ocean. He’d never paid attention to it before—he only realized it was right next to Ryoken’s,  _ his special person’s _ , house, just before the Tower of Hanoi completed. He’d lost that Master Duel stop the Tower, wishing he could perhaps go back, change things for the better, that he could be friends with Ryoken and prevent him from attacking the Ignis.

“Pretty, right?” Ryoken pulls himself up so he’s hanging from the top of the railing—impressive upper body strength for an 8-year-old. “It gets even better at night. Sometimes, the plankton in the sea—that is, teeny tiny creatures we can’t normally see—come to the surface and reflect the moonlight, creating what my father calls Stardust Road.” Even as Ryoken explains the beauty of Stardust Road, Yusaku can’t help but stare at  _ him _ instead of the ocean. “It looks like a pathway, leading somewhere far beyond the horizon.”

“Where do you think it goes?” He asks, turning his gaze back to the waters. He just can’t help it—he adores talking to Ryoken so casually, getting to know him.

“Hmm, I wonder…” They spend a moment standing there, staring out at the ocean before a voice calls to the two of them.

“Ryoken?” He sees Ryoken’s eyes light up out of the corner of his eye before they both turn to the seaside mansion’s entrance, where Kogami Kiyoshi stands. Something primal stirs in his gut, but he forces it down. He’s different now; he can handle this. “Did you bring a friend?”

“Yeah!” Ryoken calls, dropping back to the ground and gesturing for Yusaku to follow him before dashing the rest of the way up the hill. “ _ Tou-San,  _ this is Yusaku! Yusaku, this is my dad!”

Ryoken nearly drags him upstairs to his room, but Kogami calls to him. “Ryoken! Did you ask about my experiment?” Almost reflexively, dread settles in his gut.

“Experi…? Oh! Right!” Ryoken turns to Yusaku. “Remember how I mentioned my dad was a scientist?” He nods. “Well, there’s an experiment he was wanting to do, but he needs younger volunteers to get any results. Do you mind helping out?”

“O-“ His throat closes up to the point he can barely breathe, let alone speak—but he prepared himself for this. It takes some willpower, but he nods.

“Thank you.” Kogami sounds genuine, like he’s truly doing him a favor instead of leading a helpless rat towards a nice chunk of cheese in a mouse trap. He remembers the sheer, pure  _ anger _ that boiled in his veins when Zaizen said the SOL databank held the name of the perpretrator of the Hanoi Project. To see the man alive and  _ well _ in front of him—if only he still had that knife. He was  _ itching _ to kill the man himself.

But not in front of Ryoken. His innocence shattered when he found out his father’s experiment was tormenting children—he can’t imagine what would happen if he were to  _ kill _ the man, especially before Ryoken learned of the incident.

Ryoken guides him up the stairs, promising Kogami that Yusaku will be “available after a few matches”. Ryoken’s pure excitement replaces the fire in his chest with excitement of his own. Yusaku tries to go easy on him, give the poor boy a chance at victory, but all the calculating he does in his head is subconscious—even as he deliberately leaves holes in his defenses, he finds it all too easy to best Ryoken over and over, never once taking damage. Ryoken has the idea of handicapping him by switching decks for a match, but it only goes worse for him—Ryoken tried and failed to mimic most of the combos he used, while Yusaku easily improves Ryoken’s combos and comes up with all new ones that Ryoken “never would have thought of”. (He doesn’t believe that—he’s not sure when Ryoken switched from LIGHT-attribute dragons to Vullets, but if Revolver played this deck, it could perform excellently.)

Eventually evening turns to sunset and sunset into dusk before he and Ryoken finally go back downstairs for dinner. Surprisingly (or at least, considering what Yusaku knows of Kogami) there’s plenty for him as well. Yusaku has the mind to eat slowly, closer to a normal person’s pace, before the realization that it’s been forever since he had a proper meal (or at least, from before he became 6 again) has him ditching all pleasantries in favor of scarfing it down. He’s already finished by the time Ryoken realizes, to his unabashed horror, how “impolite” he was being.

He wasn’t expecting Kogami to allow him to sleep over, but once he thinks about it, it’s the smart thing to do—it’s all too easy to claim that he woke up early in the morning and left for home.

 

Waking up in an all-too-familiar white room, even though he expected it, terrified him. He sits up, holding himself—he can  _ feel _ the electricity running through his body, even if he hasn’t even put on the headset yet. He gives himself a moment to calm himself, reciting his three things in his head.

  1. He’s not the amateur duelist he was the first time around. He knows this deck inside and out—he’ll win.
  2. He knows more about this than he did the first time. The Project was to create the Ignis—human-like AIs meant to be the successors of humanity. It’s not senseless torture—he’s here for a reason, forced to fulfill it if he wants to live. It’s still grim, but it’s better than thinking he made some mistake, that he did something to deserve this hell.
  3. Ryoken never had someone to talk to, never had a therapist to help him deal with the trauma of realizing your own beloved father was _tormenting_ the child you guided into his clutches _and then some_. He’ll remember, this time. He’ll remember his parents, where he lives—he recites the address, just to make sure—where _Ryoken_ lives. He’ll come back to them all, back into the loving embrace of his parents and offering his own to Ryoken.



Steadying his breathing and heartbeat, he put on the headset with an iron will.  _ He  _ **_will_ ** _ come back. _

 

He still loses track of time, only keeping a semblance of a day/night cycle when the lights shut off, but he finds he’s not so lonely. Maybe he kept his Link Sense as well—after a while, he felt someone—or something—watching him. Out of reflex, he calls to it (“Is someone there?”). He doesn’t hear anything, but he  _ feels _ a response. He finds that something to be Ai—his developing Ignis. His earlier suspicion was confirmed; he  _ can _ talk to Ai.

 

“Do you have a name?” He asks one day. He knows the answer—it doesn’t, not a human name anyway—but he needs a reasonable segway to naming it. When he feels it reply “no”, he makes a show of thinking. After a moment, he calls back to it. “Then I’ll call you Ai. Nice to meet you!” He feels Ai wriggle in what he assumes is happiness, and somehow the numbers decorating the wall seem to be much lower than they were a second ago.

 

He quickly runs out of things to talk about to Ai, so he settles for telling stories between duels and meals—at first, he tells fairy tales he vaguely remembers from the orphanage, but as he realizes Ai is  _ learning _ from these stories, understanding sorrow, joy, anger and love, he focuses on tales with more meaning—at some point he starts spinning his own, telling stories of a nameless boy who grew up surviving entirely on instinct in a jungle, stories of a prince setting out to rescue his beloved sister, stories of a princess captured by a dragon actively stopping knights that come by to save her, claiming she was happier than she’d ever been with the dragon. When Ai had developed enough to talk back to him, he asked questions about the stories, including why some of the people in his stories do bad things.

“They all have their reasons,” Yusaku answers. “I don’t know those reasons, but no human is born bad. Something happens that changes them, and some get manipulated into believing what they’re doing is the right thing, no matter the sacrifice.” Saying it aloud sends a pain through his chest as he realizes that Ryoken was the same. The Lost Incident changed him, made him lose his father, but as a child who can’t simply abandon their beloved parent, he revived Kogami’s consciousness in the network and followed his beliefs without question.

All the more reason to return to his side, and help him.

 

Finally, the challenges thrown at him got to be too much—he  _ screamed _ as the all-too-familiar electricity ran through his body, throwing him back against the wall, pitifully hitting the floor. He sits up quickly, throwing off the headset with a yelp and holding himself, staring at it as though he wasn’t expecting this to happen at some point. He’d lost track even of how many times the lights turned off, but it had to have been at least 3 weeks—three weeks on a perfect winning streak, only for the difficulty to finally catch up to him. His skin crawls everywhere, tears stinging his eyes. The buzz of the drone flying down catches his ears, delivering nothing but a bottle of juice.

It hurts. It  _ really _ hurts, to experience this pitiful moment of  _ failure _ all over again. He may mentally be sixteen, but that doesn’t change much when nightmares of this very experience haunted his dreams  _ every night _ . Why was he so confident he could handle this? The feeling had been twisted with time, eventually resulting in the electricity he felt after nightmares being completely different from what he experienced just now. This wasn’t the same at all—of course his nightmares weren’t a reliable crutch for what to expect. It was right about most of it, but when it came to specifics, time had twisted it beyond recognition. He’d have to get used to this all over again, to experience to pain of  _ failure _ over and over until—

“ _ Kimi.  _ Wake up.”

Immediately his thoughts and the crawling of his skin stops, opening his eyes—when did he close them?—to look for him, even if he knew he wouldn’t be able to catch so much as a glance. “Who…?”

“Think of three things,” the voice calls out to him, and suddenly everything comes flooding back—including  _ who this voice belonged to _ .

“...thinking, you can still live.”

“ _ Ryoken? _ Is that you, Ryoken?” He’s met with silence, but only for a moment.

“Yes. I’m right here, by your side.

“You can go home soon.” Yusaku’s eyes widen—no way it’s already been six months. Or had Ryoken decided to make the call earlier than last time?

“Wait!” He cried. “Where are you? Are you trapped too?” He can’t negate the possibility of things playing out differently than before, even as he dreads the possibility of Ryoken experiencing this—

“I’m right here… Yusaku.” Hearing Ryoken say his name… he said it when they first met, numerous times, but somehow, in this moment of weakness, it strikes a chord within him, calming him significantly. Right, he  _ can _ do this. He has three reasons why he  _ has _ to do this.

 

Yusaku gets a strange sense of anticipation when the numbers decorating his wall close in on 0. He determined long ago it wasn’t a timer of any kind—it didn’t tick with seconds, minutes or even days, and often went down by a significant margin after his stories and duels. He determines it has to represent  _ progress _ , on Ai’s completion, most likely. That only deepens his anticipation and excitement—he could already tell Ai was smarter than before, and he knows for sure the numbers never got so low the first time he was here. He ends up sharing this with Ai; how excited he is—genuinely excited, it’s so nice to feel  _ excitement _ —to talk to Ai when his programming is complete, and he’s as human as he could possibly get. Ai had been giving him small tips during his duels, only when he was close to losing—tips that would have taken him multiple tries to come up with on his own. It’s a stark contrast to the Ai he knew before, but his silly, playful personality remained. There was something endearing about how utterly useless Ai could be, but he finds he prefers the feeling of Ai caring for him enough to give him  _ just enough _ of a hint to keep him from losing without outright telling him what to do. It’s a different kind of endearment, but a nice one all the same.

Finally, one day, after a duel, the numbers on the wall hit 0. The usual drone with food came flying down, albeit with a bit extra—a congratulations, maybe?

And he hears a door unlock.

He immediately dashes the small distance to the source of the sound, finding a visible change in the wall. He pushed on it…

And was met with a cool spring breeze, the sound of chirping birds and the sun high in the sky.

He quickly grabbed the food and brought it outside with him, eager for a makeshift picnic. He didn’t get far from the door before he poked his head back in. “Ai?” He called.

_ You’re free now _ , Ai replies in his head.  _ Go on. _

“Not without you.” Yusaku smiles, feeling Ai’s confusion as he held out his duel disk. “Can you come with me through this?”

He feels Ai poke around a little bit, eventually finding his way into the network—and into Yusaku’s duel disk, once again.

Ai pops out of the screen, earning a wide smile from Yusaku as he does a little salute. “Lead the way, captain!”

After a fun chat over his final meal from this place, Yusaku finds himself wandering to the other rooms—quite obviously labeled 001-005. His own, 006, was already open.

Time to open the others.

 

They decide to make their way down the line—starting with 001. Luckily, the outside made the door much more obvious than the inside did. The only issue was the electronic lock—which Ai disabled easily. Slowly, Yusaku opened the door, hoping not to scare whoever was inside. He immediately recognizes the boy inside as Jin—Kusanagi-san’s brother.

Hearing the door open, the boy lifts the headset from his eyes, staring wide-eyed at Yusaku from the floor. He supposes that’s fair—you’re not gonna expect the person who saves you from your own personal hell to be a child your age. He carefully raises his hands in a sort of “im unarmed” way, slowly taking small steps towards the boy until he knelt before him.

“Are you aright?” He asks, reaching his hand out. “I was here too—I found my way out, and found I wasn’t the only one here. I’ll help you get home.”

He keeps his voice as gentle as he can, which comes surprisingly easy. It works, too—the boy’s eyes light up as he takes his hand, standing up. Yusaku grabs the headset and tosses it off of him. “My name is Yusaku. Fujiki Yusaku. You are?”

Thankfully he wasn’t pushing his limits, as Jin answers quickly and energetically. “Kusanagi Jin! Thank you!” Jin bows, sweet thing, and mentally he tells Kusanagi-San that he finally saved Jin.

Yusaku leads him outside, guiding the stunned boy—they all forgot what the outside was like, didn’t they?—to the shade of a tree. “Can you wait here for a moment? I’m gonna let the others free.” Jin nods, carefully sitting on the grass, staring up at the tree in wonder. Maybe it’s because of his promise to Kusanagi-San, but he briefly thinks of Jin as a little brother, something precious he’ll need to protect.

But he can’t stare at Jin all day. He turns back to the building and unlocks door 002.

A familiar head of gray stares up at him, drone-tray of half-eaten food beside him. He looks more shocked than anything else, as Yusaku approaches him similar to how he approached Jin, kneeling beside the boy.

He repeats the brief explanation of how he was in one of these rooms too, he got himself out, discovered there were others and endeavored to help them escape as well, including how Jin was already outside.

“But they need me,” The boy replies. Yusaku recoils a fraction in surprise, but really, he should have expected this. This was Spectre—the one who grew up to serve Ryoken as  _ the only person that needed him.  _ “I like having a purpose.”

And Yusaku knows that feeling well, the comfort of a solid goal or three to work towards. He wouldn’t consider this one of them, but he ended up completing it anyway, didn’t he?

“Do you want to stay, alone?” Yusaku is still hesitant to leave him behind—he wasn’t sure if Spectre truly  _ enjoyed _ the Lost Incident, or if he simply put up with it because it gave him a purpose. The boy glances down at his tray, so Yusaku continues. “It should be possible to continue fulfilling the purpose we have outside.” Spectre looks back at him with wide eyes. He catches the way he looks past him sometimes, at the trees shuffling in the wind. Yusaku holds up his arm, prompting Ai, the Dark-attribute Ignis, to pop out of the duel disk. “This is why we were brought here—an AI taught to mimic human nature. It should be possible for you to take yours along with you, if you want it to.”

Spectre spends a long while staring at Ai’s small, purple form, before nodding. “I would like that.”

Yusaku closes his eyes and tries to reach out to this room’s Ignis in his mind, finding it after a couple tries. “Hold out your Disc,” he says, asking the Ignis to go with his Partner. He almost panics during the too-long silence that follows, but finally he hears a small  _ beep _ from the boy’s duel disc and opens his eyes to a stout, orange figure atop Spectre’s wrist. The Earth Ignis. 

“It’ll need a name,” Yusaku says, leading Spectre outside (with the half-eaten tray, which he shares with Jin). He lets Spectre decide on a name himself, and spends a quick moment doing the same for Jin after he fawns over the Ignis (Jin’s is the Light Ignis) before finally unlocking door 003.

It’s no surprise he doesn’t recognize this boy in the slightest—he only knew two others by name or face, and he’d already rescued both. This boy had slightly spiky hair slicked back into a point, brown-green on the bottom and forest-green on top. His brown eyes seemed somehow suspicious of him, like perhaps he was hallucinating, so again he approaches the boy slowly with his hands up. He’s taller than him, Yusaku realizes as he stands next to him.

The boy’s eyes widen as Yusaku explains their situation and about the two outside, definitely raring to go, if his “Then what are we waiting for?!?” was anything to go by. He makes him wait anyway, persuading the boy’s Ignis into his duel disc. Out pops a green Ignis—Wind. When he mentions a name for it, it takes the liberty of naming itself “Windy”. Yusaku guides them both to Jin and Spectre as Ai unlocks door 004.

This time a girl sits against the back wall, quietly eating her drone-lunch with tears in her eyes. She rushes to stand when she sees him, quickly placing the drone on the ground out of her lap. Yusaku only gets as far as explaining the situation before the girl interjects. “Was there a girl with brown hair and eyes here?” It catches him off guard, but he understands the look in her eyes; she acknowledges the possibility, but hopes it’s not the case.

“There is still one more person to rescue, but unless you saw them get taken, I highly doubt she’s here.”

The girl sighs in relief, dropping into a small curtsey. “My name is Sugisaki Miyu. Thank you.”

Yusaku introduces himself, coaxes the Water Ignis into Miyu’s duel disc, much to her amazement, showed her to the others and, finally, unlocked door 005.

He has a tiny moment of panic when he registers silver hair, but calms when he sees it’s in a different style, with red streaks instead of blue. The boy backs away at first, but walks towards him once he realizes they’re the same age. He stops a few feet in front of him, pale lavender eyes wide in disbelief.

“Are you real?” He asks, hope flashing in his eyes.

Yusaku smiles, closing the distance just enough to put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I am. I was in a room like this too, as were the other four outside.” The boy’s eyes widen a bit more. “Whenever you’re ready, we can all guide each other home.”

He has to hold the boy by the wrist to keep him from running off before he can get the Fire Ignis in his disc, but once he does so, he calls them all together.

“So now, we find our ways home,” Yusaku starts. “I’m willing to walk with everyone until you know where they are, or all the way to your house. But first,” he adds, glancing at the kids around him and realizing a glaring issue. “We should probably introduce ourselves.

“My name is Fujiki Yusaku.” He glances to Jin on his right, who stammers a bit but manages. After Kusanagi Jin is Spectre, then Kazuya, Sugisaki Miyu, and Homura Takeru.

They spend a moment chatting before they start on the road, searching for a familiar route they could follow home.

 

They all walk together all the way to each other’s houses, having decided on the way that they wanted to meet again sometime. Takeru recognizes where they are first, guiding them to his house where his parents quickly and lovingly embrace him. That’s also when they all realize how long it’s been—Takeru’s mother demands to know where they were “these past 3 months”, as well as who his friends were. Takeru quickly introduced them, before waving goodbye and ducking inside to explain the Incident in private. Kazuya’s house is found second, with a very similar series of events, as it does with Miyu, who’s house was third.

This left himself, Spectre and Jin. Yusaku insisted on going back last, that he already knew where they were and how to get home, and Spectre wasn’t keen on returning to his orphanage, so they wandered about before realizing Jin barely recognized any of the streets they passed. They finally asked for an address, and backtracked two blocks (luckily Jin and Spectre seemed to get along) before Jin finally spotted his own house. Jin’s brother, Kusanagi-San, was the one to open the door and hold him. The sight of the two, not just reunited but  _ happy _ , filled him with a sense of fulfillment. That, even if he may have failed at the Tower, he granted Kusanagi-san’s wish.

That only left Spectre. Against his better judgement, Yusaku leads him to Ryoken’s seaside mansion, convincing Spectre to approach the door alone while Yusaku waited out of sight. He wasn’t quite ready to see Ryoken again, as much as he wanted to.

Yusaku could just barely hear their conversation, enough to tell that Ryoken did, in fact, bring Spectre inside, where he would likely stay in place of his orphanage. He wasn’t sure how much of their relationship was as Knights of Hanoi and how much was natural bonding, but he had a feeling their friendship was more natural than “we’re comrades so I’m stuck around you long enough to learn to put up with you”.

Finally, three months ahead of schedule, he returns to his own parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I named Windy’s Kid Kazuya. I can’t just have Yusaku and the other Lost Kids call him “Windy’s Kid”.
> 
> Anyway you ever write like 4.5k words in a day? Fantastic, I highly recommend it.


	3. Completion: part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku and the other kids return home after only three months of the Lost Incident. Yusaku finds they start to relax, taking comfort in each other and recovering.  
> The Hanoi Project is over... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I may or may not have proofread this cause I retyped the entire thing from one device to another, so please let me know if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense or any typos ><  
> There’s also another brief mention of a panic attack, but otherwise enjoy!

Yusaku’s comfortable, for once, in his own home with his parents and Ai. He visits the other kids from time to time, though more often than not they come to him. They talk about the Incident, sorting things out and, slowly, coming to terms with what happened. Their Ignis seem to progress smoothly, especially as the kids begin the duel each other. Yusaku had to prohibit Ai from whispering tips in his head when he dueled any of the others; they almost always lost way too quickly. Once he did, the matches were much more fair, and he even lost some, particularly against Miyu. 

She seemed to be doing second best in terms of her Ignis’ development, saying she’s beginning to feel Aqua and little pieces of what Yusaku recognizes is the network, just as he does. That explains where his Link Sense comes from; his connection with Ai, and it explains why it seems to be stronger than it was before. 

Kazuya seemed to be struggling a little, but between his parents, Windy, the friends at school he talks about, and how he gets along with Jin, Yusaku thinks it’s only a matter of time before he gets better. He’s been dueling the others recently, and seems to be beginning to enjoy himself with it again. Yusaku can’t help but smile when he catches Kazuya having fun dueling, or any of them for that matter; mere weeks after the Incident, and they’re doing so much better than he was after 10 years. He’ll admit to the pangs of envy he gets, but he thinks seeing the others recover will help him recover, too. 

The group seems to have silently agreed that, though he’ll argue against it all day, Jin is their little brother. It’s not even because he’s the youngest of them; he just comes across as the most vulnerable, and seems to be having the most trouble of them all. He’s getting better, of course, especially with Kusanagi-san’s endless support, but the other five of them only needed a glance to each other to agree that Jin was someone precious that they’d protect. As for Lightning, he seems oddly quiet, even to Jin, but Ai’s in the process of coaxing him into talking. 

Takeru lives a bit a ways away with his parents, and though he gets along really well with all of them—save for Spectre, who seems to take far too much joy in teasing him—he said his parents were planning a trip out of the city to his grandparents’ place. They make the most of their remaining week before he leaves, and makes absolutely certain that, yes, Flame can contact the other Ignis whenever he wants. 

When they talked, Spectre seemed to be doing quite well. He’d thanked Yusaku for showing him to Ryoken, saying they got along surprisingly well, and kept insisting they visit sometime. That’s what he’s not quite ready for, though; he’s not sure how to go about talking to Ryoken when he knows him from a literal different time, and without knowing what he thinks of the Incident—but what scares him the most is Ryoken’s _father._

He heard from Spectre that he’s very much alive, albeit away very often (to the point he supposedly doesn’t even know there’s another kid living in his house). Apparently Ryoken had heard him talking to himself sometimes, mostly stuff he didn’t understand, and even if he did understand the words, neither him nor Spectre could derive any meaning from it. Aside from the thought that _their captor is alive and well,_ he’s terrified of what he pieces together one night. 

_”006’s data,” “perfect,” “next phase,” “soon,”_ but worst of all: _”Ryoken.”_

Their captor was planning something _else_ , something involving Ryoken, because Ai had been perfected. His fear is confirmed when Spectre comes back with one last thing Ryoken had heard the previous day; _”007.”_

He almost demands that they go to Ryoken’s house, and though Spectre—and Earth—are confused at the sudden reversal, they leave within the hour. He curses his tiny, unathletic body that denies him the option of running the whole way there, dread building with each step, each breath he took, before he finally dashed up the hill by Stardust Road, practically pounding on the door. 

“I have a key, you know,” Spectre quips, gently pushing Yusaku back so he can unlock the door. He doesn’t wait another instant; he dashes past Spectre, who yelps in surprise, and scans the house. 

It’s definitely different from when he was here just before the Tower; more furniture, more signs of use, less dust. He catches a whiff of an air freshener, filling the house with a pleasant flowery smell. He hates it. 

“What’s up with you?” Spectre asks, taking his shoes off at the entrance—a courtesy Yusaku’d forgotten in his hast. When he reaches to put them in the small shelf, though, he pauses. 

“What’s wrong?” He demands, marching to the little shelf and scanning it. He doesn’t see anything, though. 

“Ryoken and Kiyoshi’s shoes are missing.”

It takes a second for the meaning of that to sink in, but once it does, Yusaku’s filled with more fear he’s ever felt since the first Incident. 

All Yusaku had to say was “Ryoken’s in trouble” before he has Spectre searching the seemingly-abandoned facility they’d been locked in with him, frantically looking for Ryoken. He has Ai going through the computers and cameras, but after an hour of looking, they all come up empty. 

Spectre insists they head back to the house as night falls, saying—with no small amount of hope or prayer in his voice—that maybe they’re back now. Yusaku allows himself to hope as well, that Ryoken’s still safe and maybe he’s just paranoid; but another glance at the shelf by the entrance says no, neither of them had returned.

 

For the next three days—Yusaku convinced himself that’s a coincidence—Spectre stays at the mansion, alone, despite Yusaku’s protests, saying he’ll watch for Ryoken and his father’s return. He very nearly has a completely different kind of panic attack on multiple occasions, unable to sleep once again from all the stress. He forgets to eat—something completely new to him—and that only makes it worse; by the time he realizes he’s hungry, his stomach is practically screaming at him, much like it did during the Incident. It fills his vision with white, hugging himself in his room trying not to hyperventilate as Ai whispers in his head. He helps him a lot in terms of calming him down, and after the second time, reminding him to eat; despite how part of him protests, Yusaku lets himself lean on Ai, relishes in the comfort he gives him, a comfort he’s only just familiarizing himself with—a comfort much like being in the arms of his parents—a comfort he’ll cherish. 

He hears back from Earth on the fourth morning, that they still haven’t seen any sign of Ryoken or his father, even while Earth was in the security cameras all night. (Spectre tells him later that Earth once freaked out over someone in one of the cameras, only to realize the moment he said it aloud that was Spectre himself.) They decide to tell the others through Ai—including an image of him, courtesy of Earth—that Ryoken had gone missing, and asking for help in looking for him; Yusaku can tell Ai knows he isn’t saying something, but he doesn’t bring it up, to him or in the message. 

They get a near-immediate response, to Yusaku’s surprise; Flame says he spotted a short head of white next to a much taller man in a lab coat three days ago. Yusaku shivers; that _has_ to be Ryoken—Earth says the same a moment later. Flame offers to find and shape them, and while Yusaku greatly appreciates it, he has Ai tell him Takeru is _not_ to go with until Yusaku himself gets there. As expected, Flame says that’d delay the process a bit, but he insists he needs to be there when they find him (though Ai puts in the message that he doesn’t know why Yusaku’s being so insistent). Which was fine in theory, but he quickly finds he forgot to account for something huge:

“Yusaku, Takeru hasn’t been out of town for four days. I know it’s not fun to be away from a friend, but be a little more patient, ok?”

_His parents_.

Yusaku had gotten so used to Kusanagi-San letting him do whatever he saw fit for the purpose of chasing down Hanoi that he’d forgotten he can’t just decide something and go through with it anymore. He’s never forgotten such a huge detail in any of his plans before; he’s certain he actually _pouts_ before Ai whispers an idea in his head, though he adjusts it slightly:

“I borrowed something from him the other day and forgot to return it before he left I—wanted to give it back before he gets upset.” Behaving child-like was unbelievably difficult, but he liked to think he was getting the hang of it. His voice catches of “wanted”, but Ai praises him, so it must have worked out. 

His mother hums a little, softly ruffling his hair. He closes his eyes and leans into the touch—he’d never get tired of the warmth that spreads through him every time she or his father do this. “You’ve always been such a sweet kid. Let me guess; you want to return it in person?” He nods, and almost does so again when she only continues to ruffle his hair, but she speaks first: “Your father and I won’t be able to go with you, but if you can get Shoichi nii-san to accompany you, you can go.” He beams, and takes a moment to appreciate his mother’s soft smile before thanking her with a hug and running off to his room to contact him. The moment he closes his door, though, Ai pops out of his duel disk. 

“Lightning says Kusanagi-San will go with you.”

He really likes this new, helpful Ai. He does vaguely miss his idiocy and ignorance from before, but all that changed was he got smarter; he still called him Yusaku-Chan from time to time, he still boasts about how incredible and handsome he is, albeit a bit more modestly, he still loves puns, especially about his name, and he still enjoys those stupid soap operas. Yusaku won’t admit it just yet, but Ai quickly made himself just as important to him as his parents—he suspects Ai knows, though if he does, he never mentioned it.

The earliest tickets Ai could get him and Kusanagi-San were for tomorrow. He ends up spending the majority of the day pacing his room, meaning to sit down and get some research done, but finding every time that he needs to move around. After the third time he gets up from his laptop (it must be coincidence), Ai decides to look it up for him.

Takeru, and Ryoken, are currently in a small harbor town. They have a variety of facilities, being a stop for weary sailors, including what Ai claims is exactly 31 restaurants and 13 inns. Apparently there’s even a martial arts studio, but Yusaku’s already decided he’s gonna avoid that. He’ll find other ways to make sure he’s not as weak as he was last time. Ai goes on and on about the different restaurants, showing a particular fixation on chicken nuggets, for whatever reason, and suggests an inn for them to stay at; his mom allowed him, since he was going there already, to stay for a while. Yusaku would remind Ai staying at Takeru’s place was an option, and a free one at that, but he’d rather not bother his family time; maybe that’s why Ai suggested an inn.

He manages to calm down enough to have dinner without worrying his parents, and Ai tells him a story of his own, for the first time, easily lulling him to sleep. He’s pretty sure he hears a giggle he associates with Ai—the previous one—planning something, but decides it can wait till morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter shouldn’t take too long! A week at most. It’s gonna continue this, so have fun :^)  
> Update: This didn’t end at a decent spot so I extended it at lil’. You’re welcome


	4. Completion: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku and his (unexpected) company make their way to Takeru’s grandparents’ hometown, where Flame supposedly spotted Ryoken and his father not long ago. Finding them, though, is another story...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m late aren’t I? MY BAD. Life gets... *interesting* at times. Sorry if I got anyone’s hopes up ;~;  
> Otherwise, no real warnings here. Enjoy!

He forgets to ask what Ai was planning, but he finds out right away; when he spots Spectre and a small orange figure on his wrist, both waving—Earth welcomingly, Spectre smugly, like he knew this wasn’t planned and was here just to spite someone. Probably Takeru. 

“Spectre?” Kusanagi-San asks for him. “What’re you doing here?”

Cue the dramatic _heheheh_ from Ai. “Ai got them tickets!” He says, raising his chin with hands on his hips like he’s waiting for a shower of praise. 

“Well, the more help the better,” he says, which Ai takes as the praise he was looking for, or at least something close enough to it. “Let’s go.”

Turns out Ai and Earth really like trains. He and Spectre set their duel disks around the railing so the two can stare as intently as they like out the window at the scenery outside. Yusaku ends up staring as well, feeling a sense of peace and happiness from the sight; probably Ai’s feelings seeping through to him. One of the stories he told Ai during the Incident runs through his mind, particularly the part he focused on the description of a castle’s gardens; _lush, green grass as far as the eye can see, flowers in pinks and purples and blues carefully planted in neat rows so as to form pictures when viewed from overhead, evergreens and weeping willows dotting the garden in shade, with one tree jutting out in the center of it all—_

“A wisteria!”

At Ai’s all-too-loud exclamation, Yusaku returns his focus to the window and, sure enough, they pass a lone wisteria tree, draping its flowers over the tall grass. It strikes him as a wonderful place to take a nap, if only it weren’t half an hour by train away. He can tell without looking that Ai is adoring every second of this; he can literally feel Ai’s excitement. It blends with his own emotions, to the point he can’t quite tell what’s his and what’s from Ai. He’s not complaining, at least not yet—even if it isn’t quite his own, it’s nice, to feel happy and excited, especially after how down he got worrying over Ryoken’s safety. He still worries, but allows himself this moment to relax a little and be a kid. 

 

Yusaku feels slightly lightheaded as they roll into the station. They end up spending half an hour there due to technical difficulties, so the staff claimed, but finally, along with his lightheadedness, the issues are solved. An hour before lunch, they walk into the modest town of Shiokaze. True to its name, the first thing Yusaku notices is the pleasant sea breeze in his hair, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy the salty smell. Sky blue eyes flash in his mind, a firm reminder of why he’s here, and he marches off to begin his search. 

...or he would, if Kusanagi-San didn’t grab his arm and pull him back. He looks at the older man in confusion, but his much younger—no less stern—face reminds him they’re still children at the moment. He glances to Spectre expecting a look of “what are you doing,” but instead finds he, too, is staring off into the distance with determined but somehow sad eyes, Earth mirroring his Origin’s face on his wrist. It slaps him in the face that he’s not the only one that holds Ryoken dear, even if he didn’t exactly have a good relationship with Spectre before. 

“Where do we start, Yusaku?” Spectre asks, turning to him and Kusanagi-San. He blinks for a moment, but quickly gathers himself. 

“We should start by meeting up with Takeru. Flame can show us where he saw them and where they were going, which should narrow down the search somewhat.” He catches Kusanagi-San staring at him in that slight-awe look he’s gotten used to; he falls back into his mature self all too often, and Kusanagi-San seems genuinely impressed. It scared him a little when he specifically said he sounded 10 years older, which was technically true, but he didn’t have to brush it off at all; Kusanagi-San did that for him. 

They walk to Takeru’s grandparents’ place after Ai gets an address from Flame in relative silence, the three (technically five, including Ai and Earth) of them glancing around, taking in the sights. They really shouldn’t be, not when Ryoken could be suffering through the Hanoi Project, but he knows better than to suggest Spectre hurry up; he’ll just go slower. 

Now that he watches him though, Spectre seems to be searching, not sightseeing—he doesn’t look at buildings, but between them, in alleys, nooks, crannies, everywhere some could hide. He’s searching for Ryoken every moment, not a single glance spared for a different purpose. Yusaku actually feels bad for assuming Spectre’d be wasting time; if anything, Yusaku was. He briefly wonders if maybe Spectre got transported back in time, too, but passes it off as him simply caring too deeply for Ryoken to miss any chance at finding him. Which still hits like a truck, but at least Spectre might grow up to be a little less troll-like. Spectre didn’t even react to the gardening shop they passed, and Yusaku’s certain he saw it—or rather, his eyes passed over it. 

Ai makes a far-too-loud “Ah!”, actually making Yusaku jump a little and hurriedly turn to where Ai’s looking, feeling hope as he spots white hair that immediately fades as he realizes it’s not Ryoken, but Takeru, waiting outside his grandparents’ place for them. Flame perks up, turning to Takeru and pointing at them, probably saying something, because Takeru turns to him, then to them, and beams, waving frantically like they haven’t seen each other in years. 

“Come in!” Takeru calls, already opening the door for them. “We’re gonna have curry!” Yusaku can’t quite find it in himself to be excited for that knowing it’s entirely possible Ryoken is currently fighting just for a chance at _anything_ to eat, but his stomach loudly disagrees. 

 _Three things,_ he thinks, as though Ryoken could hear him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s a bit short, but it’s the best cut-off point without making this really super long. Starting around here I don’t really have much pre-written, so it’ll take a while. Again, sorry for waits... I know how excited people can get over fics; I’m like that for multiple.


	5. Checkpoint: Ending Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku decides to take this chance to start over. If he isn't part of the Hanoi Project, he can live normally...  
> Alas, morbid curiosity draws him to investigate what became of the Project with his absense...
> 
> This is essentially like the first chapter, except for the different paths for End 2 because I’m indecisive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings come in at the parts themselves. Enjoy!

He didn’t have to come across Ryoken. He didn’t _have_ to walk right into Kogami’s clutches—he could simply stay home today, and he’d never have to live through the Hanoi Project—or its aftermath—again.

The next weekend, though, Yusaku ventures off to the building where he was once held. He’d selfishly chosen to stay right where he was safe, not bothering to consider the consequences of it—or what would become of the other 5.

It puts him on edge, to be so close to where he could simply be snatched up again, but it’s almost comfortingly familiar, the keen awareness he has of his surroundings.

But there’s no threat—by all outside appearances, the building was abandoned, never used in years, but Yusaku knew better. The Lost Incident—although it hadn’t been named that yet—had been on TV just yesterday—only _five_ children reported missing. He had to wonder how the Ignis would develop with only 5 of the 6 attributes covered, and that curiosity—morbid as it may be—drove him here.

He’s silently thankful for the few years he spent in an orphanage sneaking out at night that taught him to pick locks as he quietly steps into the building. It’s dead silent—uncomfortably so, especially knowing what’s going on here—and the only reason he keeps walking is that he _knows_ there’s some kind of monitor here somewhere; how else would Ryoken have talked to him, seen his torment?

_Ryoken._

_Five children reported missing._

A cold shiver runs down his spine as he abandons all thoughts of being stealthy and dashes through the halls. Please, please let him be wrong, just this once…

He finally comes across a light and has the sense to slow down, catch his breath and approach it much more calmly, even as his heart raced and his hands shook. He closed his eyes as he reached the monitor, mentally preparing himself for what he would see even as he prayed he was wrong. Hesistantly, he pulled up the camera for IGN006…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you made it with me this far! Sorry for the break, life happens. Also I’m forgetful and I apologize for that.  
> I see your comments, and one very long one in particular (don’t apologize for long comments; that made me *so* happy) gave me a couple ideas for future stuff.  
> I’m gonna try to be more on top of this in the future. Regardless, there’s definitely more to come! This story is too good not to write for.


	6. Ending Two Path One: Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...And finds that fate is indeed a cruel mistress... Especially if things don't go as they were meant to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> I couldn’t really write this without going into a little bit of detail about the Incident, but I don’t think it’s anything *too* bad. Regardless, it’s a warning.

And went completely pale. 

 _Ryoken._ Pure, innocent Ryoken, who had approached him simply wanting a friend…

And he’d not only failed to show up to their fated meeting, he’d _condemned Ryoken to his place._

The boy lay on the floor, still except for the sobs racking his tiny body. The headset—that accursed headset—lie on the floor some distance away. A glance to the side at another monitor showed his dueling record--he did fine at first, but he finally lost just yesterday, and hasn't been able to win yet, it seems. He only feels worse as the drone flies down with nothing but a bottle of juice on its surface—if Ryoken noticed, he didn't react. 

But there was one thing he could do. 

"Hey, you…" he says, and almost immediately the boy goes still and silent. "Wake up."

The boy lifts his head, and another pang goes through Yusaku's heart. Baby blue eyes were red with tears that made visible streaks down his face. Did he look like this too? "Who…?"

"Think of three things." His voice is still calm, but he feels anything but. "Three things to defeat the enemy. Three reasons to live. Three reasons to go home. By thinking, you can still live."

"Home…" Ryoken mumbles. Right, his own father… "Who are you?" He calls, sitting up. " _Where_ are you?"

His name. Ryoken never gave him his, but… should he lie, or keep quiet? Maybe give him his VRAINS name? But can he really make Ryoken wait ten years just to see him? Is it better for him to make do without him?

"I'm right beside you," he says. He can decide on whether to share his name later. 

 

Yusaku pokes at the food on his plate with his fork, thinking about Ryoken and the Incident. He left soon after speaking with him, wary of being caught, but he couldn't focus on anything else. What's he supposed to do? Report the Incident now, or let it play for six months? Tell Ryoken his name, hide it, or don't mention it at all? And what of the other five? Should he just leave them to suffer?

"Yu~sa~ku~," his mother sings. "Something on your mind? You're unusually quiet."

He sinks into his chair. And how's he supposed to play this off? He can't just claim he's tired every time. Even if his mom lets it slide, he's not getting past his dad like that. Eventually, one or both of them are gonna make him talk. And he can't just tell the truth, can he? Just admit that he knows where the five missing kids plus an extra are, and that they're being borderline _tortured_? They'd make the choice to report it for him, and what if that's not what's supposed to happen? What if he messes with the flow of things too much? What's the right choice…?

"Hey… Mom, Dad?" He asks quietly. They both hum a little, letting him know they're listening. "How do you know what the right thing to do is? How do I know what's best for everyone?"

"Woah, what's happening at school?" His dad asks. "That's kinda intense for a kid your age."

"It's not school, just… a story I read got me thinking."

"Hey now, don't read too above your level," his mom scolds. "Even if you can read it with no issues, the concepts get darker."

"I know, I know… but still…" He takes a mouthful of food, though it barely registers. 

His father sighs, dropping his fork. "In all honesty? There's really nothing that's best for _everyone._  If there were such a thing, the world would be a better place than it is now." He earns a smack from his mother, but continues. "It's okay to make mistakes, you know."

" _I_ think," his mother interrupts, glaring at her husband. "You should just do what feels right. If you feel like someone needs help, you help them."

He gets that part. The issue… "And… what if I feel like, even if someone's in trouble, they _don't_ need help…?"

"I'm gonna need to see this book you read, kiddo." His father promptly gets slapped. 

"Sometimes people can handle what comes their way." His mother takes over the conversation. "If everyone needed help at the slightest hurdle, we wouldn't really be here. ...but the look on your face tells me you mean some _real_ trouble." Yusaku nods. "Well, some things you have to do on your own. We get stronger for all our troubles, so we can deal with bigger ones as life goes on. Sometimes those troubles leave scars, but that's just how it goes."

His mother stands, kneeling beside his chair and holding him. "As much as I hate to say it, you can't be there for _everyone._ Some things go right past you, and you never know it even happened until it's too late to help. You wonder if you could've been there, if you could've helped had you just done this instead of that, but sometimes we're meant to deal with troubles on our own and be stronger for it. If you weren't in a position to help, maybe you weren't meant to. Even if you are in a position to help, you may not be meant to.

"But you shouldn't worry about that now. Your dinner's getting cold." His mother smiles at him, gives him a gentle pat on the head before returning to her own dinner. 

"Really though, about that book—"

His father slept on the couch that night. 

 

He’d decided, with a heavy heart, that the Incident had to continue. Maybe he still had some kind of attachment to Ai, but he just couldn’t imagine what the next ten years would be without them. The entirety of Link VRAINS was shaped by the Data Material the Ignis provided, and, as far as he knew, all the Ignis were good people—good AIs?

But that doesn’t mean he’ll leave them to suffer on their own. Today, a week after that conversation with his parents, he goes straight from school to the laboratory with a laptop. He doesn’t have much high-end stuff, but he has the bare minimum to be able to hack into the lab’s surveillance systems and access them remotely. He’s all too keenly aware that the chances of his remote access being discovered will only increase as time goes on, especially for as long as six months, but he can’t risk making too many trips into the lab. If he gets spotted even once, it’s all over. 

He overestimated his ability to focus. Turns out there’s no real way to mute the audio from all six rooms, so all the work he does is accompanied by six sets of screaming, crying, and dueling. He finds himself especially drawn to Jin and Ryoken—Jin, the poor boy who was left broken, and Ryoken, who should never have even known this hell.

Jin seemed to be doing well enough so far—his dueling was a little behind everyone else’s, but he seemed to be holding his own relatively well. 

Ryoken… he’d overcome that first hurdle of difficulty from a week ago, but he’s now in another, going on day 3. Looking at his face, somehow he vividly remembers that day when he met Ryoken—originally—the bright, excited eyes of a child about to bring a new friend over for the first time…

Now, they’d dimmed. There was no excitement in his eyes—nothing remotely approaching happiness. He looked troubled, brows furrowed in thought, determination the only spark left. As Yusaku worked, he never once shouted for help like the others—he would cry, but quietly, as though he were afraid to show his suffering. He spotted him, once, hugging his knees against the wall, head down and suppressing sobs. It was only after he got up that Yusaku noticed he was thinking to himself—not reminiscing, not silently asking for help, but _planning_ , working in his head on something that might help him win. He’s running out of time, but Yusaku can’t help but encourage him. 

“Hey,” he says softly into the mic before Ryoken puts his headset back on again. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots some sudden movement on the monitors, but ignores it as Ryoken glances up, hope daring to sparkle in his eyes. “Think of three things,” he repeats. It’s probably not necessary, but he appreciated how Ryoken repeated it, over and over—not because it didn’t stick the first few times, but because it showed he was _there_ all that time, that Yusaku _wasn’t_ alone. “Three things to beat the enemy. Three reasons to live. Three reasons to go home.” 

He wasn’t expecting the following barrage from the speakers. 

“Again…!” Ryoken—poor, innocent Ryoken...

“Who…?” A small, almost pitiful voice. 

“Who’s there?!?” Surprisingly tough for a six-year-old, weary of him. 

“Who are you?” No fear, no sadness, just curiosity—which, ironically, was curious. 

“You are…?” A small but clear feminine voice. 

“Who’re you?” A kid trying to play tough, but his voice quivers. 

All six kids had heard him. Not just Ryoken, not just Jin, _all six._

Not that this was a bad thing—in all honesty, he probably would’ve spoken to all of them sooner or later. 

“I’m by your side. No matter what happens, I’ll always be right here.” He gathers his things and returns home. Their records, the cameras, the microphones… all of it is on his laptop now. They’ll never be alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might update this chapter later on to make it a bit longer... I feel like that’d be better than just adding chapter after chapter.  
> I hope there’s a way to change chapter order, cause otherwise this might be a mess...  
> Edit: I had a slightly different idea for a part of this so I edited it accordingly. I feel like this way's way better too.


	7. Alone: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku takes Ryoken's place in the Lost Incident: providing moral support from the sidelines, keeping the boy sane through the torture... and ends up helping the other 5 too. Progress is relatively slow, but they're getting there, and Yusaku is proud of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS:  
> Minor descriptions of PTSD by someone who has very limited knowledge of how that would work.  
> Growing Ryoken/Yusaku because I'm trash

Yusaku's starting to regret developing a habit of reckless abandon. He finds an issue, he finds a solution, makes sure it doesn't hurt others, but never considers how it might hurt _him._ This was one such decision. 

Having the entirety of the monitoring equipment for the Hanoi Project on his laptop was an excellent idea in theory, but in practice, he finds he can't spend much longer than 10 minutes without the need to know what's happening getting the better of him. This alone he could adjust to, perhaps make a program that would alert him when one of them lost. The biggest issue was the flashbacks. 

He can never look away for too long, but he can't watch either. Just watching them, especially as one of them loses, sends phantom shocks through his body, has him seeing white, and it's _hard_ , not to fall into a panic attack then and there. He catches himself hyperventilating just before falling to a panic attack, but the moment he succumbs to one, his parents will see exactly what he's doing, and end the Incident of their own volition. Maybe they should, but he needs to know for sure before letting that happen. 

He doesn't sleep. 

 

He just can’t stop himself from watching the cameras obsessively. He calls out when one of them gets discouraged, reminds them _I’m here, I’m watching, you can do it._ He finds he doesn’t need to do so with Spectre, but talks to him occasionally anyway, just to make sure. 

They start calling him _Playmaker_ by his request: even if Kogami finds out, he won't be able to trace the name to anything. 

So far, he’s told them two things about the incident: where they are, and why they’re here. He doesn’t go into too much detail on the second bit—only that there seems to be an AI developing based on the kids’ actions. He does mention that the AIs have an Attribute when one asks, and ends up telling each of them what theirs is. The girl and the headstrong boy name theirs—Aqua and Flame respectively—and he brings the idea to the other 4. The kid feigning confidence—though it doesn’t seem nearly as fake as it did at first—names his Windy, Spectre simply calls his Earth, Jin takes longer to decide but ultimately settles on _Raimei_ —Lightning, and Ryoken…

“You name it.” Yusaku’s taken aback by the suggestion, but Ryoken’s face shows no sign of hesitation or uncertainty. “It’ll be ours.”

He nearly drops his water on his laptop— _ours._ _Their_ Ignis. He never thought about it, an Ignis having two Origins…

“Ai.”

Maybe it’s his imagination, but he swears he feels a comfortingly familiar presence from then on. 

 

"Playmaker?"

Yusaku glances over to his camera. “Something wrong, Ryoken?”

“Not wrong, I was just wondering…” he pokes at the food on the drone in front of him. “You keep telling us to think of three things—specifically, three reasons to _go home._ What if… what if I don’t _have_ a home anymore?”

Yusaku actually slaps himself; he was so used to the mantra that he completely forgot it didn’t fit the circumstances Ryoken was in. His own father shoved him in this hell—of course he doesn’t have a home to return to. 

“Then think of three places to make your home.” Ryoken’s eyes widen a little, no longer poking at his food. “Three places you can go after this is done. Home is where the heart is.”

“Where the heart is…” Ryoken echoes, quietly finishing his meal before returning to the headset. 

 

Yusaku believes he's a walking definition of an obsession. 

It takes him a bit to admit that, yes, he's _obsessed,_ but he knows he has been from the beginning. It's only gotten worse, really--he listens to the kids at every chance he gets; while doing homework, at lunch, and basically every time he's alone. They've all gotten really good, to the point that they only lose, on average, once or twice a week. It's still an incredible pain, to hear one of them lose--he can't help a shiver as phantom shocks wrack his body, even if it's getting a bit more bearable each time; but recently, he finds the worst part is the _anxiety_ of not knowing how the kids are doing. He could never convince himself that they'd be perfectly fine even if he looked away, some part of him screaming _what if something changed, what if one of them has a panic attack, what if, what if, what if…_ He managed to shove it down during class, breakfast and dinner (he's in a whole new kind of trouble if his parents find out), but that feeling plagues him everywhere else. Once, he even got phantom shocks just thinking about the chance of one of them having lost--he vaguely wonders if this is at all similar to withdrawal symptoms after abusing some kind of drug, as is apparently the main subject at his school right now. 

That obsession is part of what drives him to find out how the Ignis are progressing. He's managed to learn a little bit about how they mature, though it's mostly a confirmation of his suspicions--they learn how the kids think through what they do, and especially in how they duel, and adapt that behavior as their own--or something to that effect; he's not entirely sure whether or not the Ignis' personalities actually match their Origin's, or if they just learn how to be _human_ and then make their own personality. He can't exactly read the Ignis Algorithm very well either, but he can spot patterns well enough. A quick browse through proves that, if nothing else, their personalities seem to be definite. One of them--Windy--seemed to have a small contradiction to itself, but it's basically the equivalent of anger management issues; nothing too out of the ordinary. 

No, what's out of the ordinary is _Ai._ Not only does he seem to be vastly different from every other Ignis, not sharing even one trait with any of them, he contradicts himself pretty heavily. Something tells him exactly what each little string of code means--one seems to allude to Ai being aloof, like how his Ai was, yet the other seems to imply he allows no room for messing around. Another seems to say he'd easily forgive someone as long as they weren't purposefully hurting him, and yet another implies he might hold a grudge for his whole life. It's almost like...

“Playmaker?”

He looks up from Ai's coding to glance at Ryoken’s camera feed. He’s not looking up towards the camera like he normally does, instead fidgeting with nothing, looking downcast. "Yes?"

"You told me before… to think of three places I could make my home…" He trails off, his whole body screaming nervous. "But… I can only ever think of one."

"That's fine," Yusaku says, trying to cheer him up--maybe Ryoken's upset he can't think of two other options? He's had a similar issue before. "Maybe that's the best place for you to be." 

"Yeah…" Ryoken mumbles, and he swears he sees the tiniest hint of a smile, even though most of his face is hidden from the camera. "I thought so too. _Home is where the heart is._

" _You_ are my home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Either it takes me this long to write these to the end, or I've posted a bit of this before... Let me know if it's the latter and I'll try to remove any info repeats x.x  
> "Progress is relatively slow, but they're getting there, and Yusaku is proud of them." I just realized that applies to me on this as well, and I'd love to believe Yusaku is proud of me (even though realistically there's no way he would be).


	8. Ending Two Path Two “Together”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...And finds that, yes, Ryoken has taken his place as the sixth Hanoi Project test subject. Though something's off...
> 
> I’m actually not sure if this adds to or removes the angst implied by Path One’s title. I suppose you guys are gonna have to be the judge of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS:
> 
> Electric shocks in minor detail  
> Ryoken/Yusaku  
> That should about do it. Enjoy!

And there was Ryoken.

He stood strong, though; somehow his posture was calm, confident and _familiar_ , and a glance to the side showed his records so far were perfect—not one loss.

He showed no fear, no signs of a child wondering why their own father would condemn them to this torture—as though he already knew exactly what was happening…

" _H_ _ey_ ," Yusaku finds himself saying quietly, watching as the boy perked up suddenly. 

"Who's there?!" Ryoken throws off the headset, glancing all around the room. 

"Think of three things," he says. Why he does, he doesn't know. "Three things to defeat the enemy. Three things to live. Three things to go home. By thinking—"

" _You can still live._ " Ryoken finishes. "Playmaker? Is that really you…?"

Yusaku feels himself smile. "Hello, Revolver."

“How? How are you…?” He seems at a loss of words.

“Back in time ten years? I’m not sure either—though I’m more curious as to why _both_ of us are.” He remembers wishing for a second chance… “Did you want to change things too?”

Ryoken’s eyes widen a bit. He glances at the floor, quietly debating what to say, no doubt. 

“I thought I’d have no regrets,” he starts quietly. “On the Tower. But I found myself wishing I had found you again, that we were friends…” He nearly mumbles the word “friends”, almost as though he were ashamed to admit it, but it made Yusaku smile. 

“I felt the same. I wanted nothing more than to try living a normal life with you…

“...and it’s not too late, you know.” Ryoken looks up towards him again, curiosity bordering on desperation in his eyes. “Let’s fix this.”

 

He’d underestimated Ryoken’s knowledge of the Hanoi Project. He guided Yusaku through the computers, into the cameras and speakers, and even the programming itself. He pointed out weak points in the programming, letting Yusaku know where he could make adjustments without getting caught, and how to hide any additions he makes. He can do basically anything he wants, as long as he doesn’t modify the core too much. He turns down the intensity of the electric shocks, enough that the kids wouldn’t suffer as much but not enough to make a noticeable difference to Kogami. He sneaks back in the next day to get everything on a flash drive, letting him adjust just about anything wherever and whenever he wants. 

They won’t suffer. 

He won’t let them. 

 

One night, Ryoken lost. 

He’d been making more grunts of frustration, but he wasn’t expecting the sound of crackling electricity and the subsequent scream. It caught him completely by surprise, and hearing the electricity sent phantom shocks through him, hugging himself and squeezing his eyes shut, willing himself to calm down. 

“...and you went through this almost every day…?” Ryoken’s voice was quiet, a little hoarse, and riddled with guilt. “I always imagined what it would feel like, but… I’m sorry, it’s so much worse than what I thought—“

“Don’t apologize,” Yusaku interrupts. “This _wasn’t your fault_.” He struggles to get his composure back, but priority one was making sure Ryoken didn’t feel guilty. “This all was out of your control. You couldn’t have imagined the magnitude of it, you couldn’t have known how to change the programming—“

“But I could’ve stopped it sooner! I let you all suffer six months of this! I should’ve ended this sooner—“

“But I’m glad you didn’t.” Ryoken looked up with a small _huh?,_  tears in his eyes. “If you’d stopped the Incident sooner, would we have met again? Would we have this chance to make things better?”

Ryoken looked down again. “...how can you be so positive about this? _You’re_ the victim here— _you’re_ the one who had to suffer for my choice! Why…” he pauses. “...why don’t you hate me?”

“Why would I?” Yusaku’s calm again now, more focused on talking to Ryoken. “It doesn’t matter how long it took—you still saved us, Ryoken. You saved _me._ And not just by ending the Incident,” he adds, seeing Ryoken come up with a protest. “You gave me three things—a reason to live… and to find you again. Besides, aren’t the tables turned?” He sees Ryoken perk up a little, but gets no other reaction. “Now you’re a victim, too.” Not that that’s inherently good, but… “You know exactly what we went through, can understand our thought processes. Now, you’re just like us.”

Ryoken stays silent for a moment, before his tiny body, still lying on the floor, becomes wracked with sobs, and eventually starts yelling. Yusaku feels helpless, just watching him cry… so he helps in the only way he knows how. 

“Don’t forget to think of three things.”

He seems to cry harder after that, but somehow he can tell it helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this one’s kinda short, but I don’t have much in the way of ideas to add on to this, and I’d rather you guys not be left update-less for two months, so here it is.  
> I read your comments!!! Suggestions are welcome!!


End file.
